Magazine Feature - Orange Coast, May 2007
Plastic surgeon Nirav Savalia has a professional motto that defines his work: “Just you ... Refined.” What that means is that the changes he makes to people’s features are seamless and subtle—they are refinements of the person’s natural looks, not heavy-handed transformations that leave patients looking like a dramatically different person.
“My philosophy is that if you come to my practice, you should not have anything done to you that will completely change who you are externally,” says Dr. Savalia, who moved his practice from Santa Monica to Newport Beach in April. “I’m going to make refinements. So you’re still going to feel like yourself, and you’re still going to look like yourself—unless you want a dramatic change.”
“And for certain kinds of cosmetic surgery, a patient may want a dramatic change—breast augmentation, for example. However, the changes I’m referring to are ones that are not going to be obvious to everyone else who is looking at you. They’re not going to say, ‘Wow, I like the way your new nose looks.’ Or ‘I like your new eyelids.’“
“It’s more along the lines of, ‘You look great today—what did you do? Did you get more sleep, did you get your hair done, what is it? I don’t know what it is, but you look great!’ ”
Dr. Savalia, whose practice offers the full complement of cosmetic surgical and non-surgical procedures, has an impeccable background of education and training in plastic and reconstructive surgery, stretching back to when he was a teenager. As a passionate and precocious student of the sciences, he was admitted to a highly competitive accelerated program at Pennsylvania State University, where undergraduate and medical school courses were combined in an intense six-year program.
After completing four years of undergraduate studies in just two years, Dr. Savalia then earned his medical degree from the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. His training continued with completing six years in general surgery residency at University Hospital of New Jersey that included a one-year research fellowship, and then entrance to the prestigious program in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Montefiore Medical Center at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, where he would serve as chief resident.
His mentors at Montefiore, which included many of New York City’s finest plastic surgeons, also provided him with a very strong foundation in morality and ethics in the medical field, Dr. Savalia says.
“They really taught me the ethics of plastic surgery and how to use the skills I have in a way that’s really going to benefit patients and their lives,” he says.
Dr. Savalia pays meticulous atention to detail in his work, which requires not only having the technical skills to perform successful surgeries, but also being compassionate and perceptive about what his patients tell him.
“I have to really be in tune with my patients,” says Dr. Savalia. “I have to really listen to them and see why, and for what reasons, they are having a particular procedure done. Only after I understand the patient’s desires can a truly individualized treatment plan be made.”
Or if a patient is particularly sensitive about something, the surgeon adds, it might mean taking extra time with them during a plastic surgery treatment, such as a wrinkle filler or Botox injection, so that he can patiently and carefully show them exactly what he is doing throughout the process—and make sure they are pleased with every step along the way.
Along with the debut of his Orange County practice, Dr. Savalia is moving his family from Santa Monica to Irvine. He and his wife of seven years, Sonia, have a daughter, Elina, 4, a son, Shailen, 2—and another baby on the way.
For him, practicing plastic and reconstructive surgery—which also includes hospital emergency rooms—is extremely fulfilling work. Dr. Savalia says he loves the medical challenges, the creativity involved and, most of all, helping people.
“My wife is a litle envious that I enjoy my work so much,” he says with a smile.
Practicing Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Orange County
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